Flex and trade: Stories from Asia

About this event

This full-day interactive event unites policymakers, industry leaders, financiers, civil society, and innovators to explore how flexible power systems, industrial decarbonisation, and regional competitiveness can work in tandem to accelerate Southeast Asia's just energy transition. The morning session will focus on power system flexibility and the role of battery energy storage. We will employ the Flex Trade, an interactive, game-based session where participants step into the shoes of generators, consumers, and storage operators in a dynamic power market simulation designed to balance supply and demand. Through this hands-on experience, attendees will gain first-hand insights into how flexibility enhances grid reliability, reduces costs, and accelerates renewable energy integration. Following the simulation, the session will transition into a facilitated discussion exploring the critical gaps between policy ambitions and real-world implementation in scaling up battery storage. The afternoon session will shift toward the nexus of industrial decarbonisation and regional competitiveness for Southeast Asia. The session will begin with a short plenary framing on CBAM, evolving trade measures, and industrial decarbonisation pathways in Southeast Asia, with a spotlight on steel supply chains and hydrogen development. Participants will then engage in Industry Trade Saga, rotating concept stations that encourage participants to exchange perspectives and co-develop strategic responses. The day will conclude with a synthesis discussion highlighting key takeaways, emerging opportunities for regional cooperation, and recommendations for aligning power sector transformation with low-carbon industrial development. By bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, financiers, civil society, and innovators, these two sessions aim to share stories from across Asia, foster peer learning, and identify actionable solutions. Together, they will strengthen cross-sector understanding of how flexible power systems, industrial competitiveness, and climate policy can reinforce one another to support a just, resilient, and economically competitive transition in Southeast Asia.